Idioms and proverbs are sayings whose meanings are figurative rather than literal. Such sayings are often peculiar to a language. The English language has many sayings and proverbs that mention nature. The following sections define some common English proverbs and idioms that mention land, water, and sky.

Land Sayings

The following nature sayings contain references to land features and mostly describe negative situations.

to beat around the bush – to be indirect; to avoid coming to the point

between a rock and a hard place – a difficult situation

Can’t see the forest for the trees. – to look too closely at small details and not see the whole picture

clear as mud – unclear, confusing

cliffhanger – a situation that ends in suspense

down to earth – practical and realistic

to head for the hills – to run away from trouble

to make a mountain out of a molehill – to over exaggerate the severity of a situation

slippery slope – a course leading to disaster or destruction

Water Sayings

These English proverbs that include references to different forms of water describe both good and bad situations.

across the pond – the United States if in England; England if in the United States

to break the ice – to make a beginning in some undertaking or enterprise; to break through cold reserve or stiffness; to begin an initial conversation with a new unknown person

in deep water – in big trouble

a drop in the ocean – a quantity bearing an infinitesimally small proportion to the whole

to go with the flow – to act as others are acting, conforming to common behavior patterns with an attitude of calm acceptance

to make waves – to cause trouble

to sell down the river – to betray a trust

on thin ice – in a dangerous, hazardous, or delicate situation; at risk; in an unsafe, difficult, or vulnerable situation

tip of the iceberg – when there are bigger problems that it seems

up the river without a paddle – in an unfortunate situation

Sky Sayings

The following English sayings contain references to the sky including light, air, the sun, the moon, the stars, wind, and the weather.

to beat the living daylights out of someone – to be someone severely

a bolt from the blue – something that happened unexpectedly

in broad daylight – during the day with many witnesses

dead air – complete and total silence

full of hot air – talking rubbish, talking a lot without really saying anything

Make hay while the sun shines. – advice to do something at an opportune time

many moons ago – a long time ago

a ray of sunshine – someone or something that brings great joy

to reach for the stars – to set lofty goals

to scare the living daylights out of someone – to scare someone severely

scattered to the four winds – going in all directions

to shed light on something – to make something clearer

under the weather – not feeling well

up in the air – in an unfixed or uncertain state, in doubt

to weather the storm – to reach the end of a very difficult situation without too much harm or damage

Idioms and proverbs are sayings that are peculiar to a language and whose meanings are figurative rather than literal. Many sayings and proverbs in the English language mention nature features including the land, the water, and the sky.

Author: Heather Johnson
Heather earned a BA in English studies with a minor in creative writing from Illinois State University in May 2007 and an MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2009. In December 2011, she finished an MS in English studies with an emphasis in linguistics at Illinois State University for which she wrote a thesis on multiple modals in American English.